I just changed the passwords on a bunch of my banking, financial, social media and email accounts. Here's why you should consider doing that, too.

A cybersecurity firm said it has uncovered about 1.2 billion Internet logins and passwords and more than 500 million email addresses amassed by a Russian crime ring, The New York Times reported on Tuesday.You can read the Times story here.The report is prompting consumer protection authorities to issue warnings."Even if you don't know whether or not you have been directly affected, take common-sense steps to protect yourself," Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said. "A good place to start is by changing your passwords and carefully monitoring your accounts.”DeWine offers these tips:

If you have online accounts, change your passwords. If you have used the same password for multiple accounts, consider changing those passwords as well.

Choose a different password for each of your online accounts.

Create passwords that are long and complex, using a variety of numbers, letters, and characters. Rather than choosing a word, consider picking a familiar phrase and using the first letter of each word, followed by a random number. For example, you could use the phrase “My dog’s name is Brutus!” and choose the password, “MdniB!579.”

Change your passwords often.

Don’t store passwords or account username reminders on smartphones or computers. This personal information could be compromised by a computer virus.

Beware of possible scams related to the breach. For example, watch out for email or text messages that instruct you to click on a link to “change your password.” Some scammers may use the announcement as ploy to get you to click on malicious links.